I know that back in the day Jerry would employ a Mutron, among other things, to get his sound. Could someone please tell me what modern Guitar Center type crap will get me close. Multi-Effects processor recommendations are also welcome. Thanks.
ok, though i'm not an envelope expert i do play jerry garcia on tv, i mean i have a mutron III. here's the scoop as i understand it.
i have the attached cord version. the "cool" version has an external power supply and takes batteries. i hear that it does cool things when the batteries are low. mine isn't supposed to have the sweep that the older/non cord attached model has. that said mine still sounds sweet, and there is a guy who used to build em' who do will do a true-byass mod as well add the extra sweep (i can't seem to find his url, and though he returned my email, he didn't answer any questions i asked him= no business for him, but i would've if it was broken or something *already had it true-bypassed too*).
why do i talk only of the mutron? well...first off it's the only thing that will get jerry's sound, second on though they "re-issue" them they sound nothing close to the originals (either version) and are just as much cash or more.
for a different yet similar sound, i think the ibanez aw-1 sounds pretty cool, and i've seen them around for some pretty good prices. i know there's the eh dr. q but i haven't' heard one and again, i'm sure the "re-issue" sounds nothing like the original.
there are probably some nice boutique envelope followers/filters now, but since i have a mutron i really haven't checked any out.
do a search on this board, i just found tons of stuff on them...
The Electro Harmonix Qtron is suppose to be the best modern version of the Mutron III. It was in fact designed by the original designer of the Mutron III. Some people have been pleased with a basic envelope filter ....DOD, Ibanez
I dont know if they reissued these, but when I heard my friend's (now mine) for the first time, I thought for sure it was the "Jerry" effect. Turns out not to be true, but I still like it for its real smooth quack and its simplicity. Very touch sensitive and not a problem with single-coils (as this is a criticism of many env. filters).
The older DoD green env filter (DonneR ???) was cool sounding too. A little on the nasty side, but great for more aggressive filter sounds and a little random-ness.
Semi-imperfectionist, who posts here, has the Emma Discombobultaor which I tried and liked very much. Teddy sells em here. He also has the Ibanez/Maxon AF9 available, which was supposedly their version (copy?) of the Mutron III. So that might be a good one.
There's also a Menatone version here on the toyz site, and I've never heard a bad sounding Menatone yet.
I got very lucky recently and scored a Rubber Fetish envelope filter from Prophecy Sound (the guy that makes the Infinitphase). This thing is amazing, it's a copy of the Mutron with some added features and parameters, lots of fun, can do the Jerry thing or the P-funk thing plus more....
There are some other high-end env. filters out there, the Frostwave Funk-A-Duck (sold here) and the Agent00Funk by Chunk Systems in AU http://www.chunk.com.au/a00f.htm
If I hadn't found the RF I was planning on buying the EMMA Discombobulator - small, true-bypass, 9V, and supposed to sound really good. They are between U.S. distributors right now (actually just signed on with Godlyke, should be available again soon) but there are still 2 in stock at Elderly Instruments for $135
FWIW I tried the Maxon AF-9 and thought it was cool but not $190 cool. I've also played the green DOD that DonneR mentioned years ago and thought it was killer for nasty funk, but I don't remember it being very versatile....
So funky I can smell it!
Posts: 2460 | Location: ATL | Registered: March 16, 2002
I just got the Agent 00 Funk a couple months ago. It really is amazing. It has a lot of control and I can see how it would be great for guitar, bass, or any other instrument. If you are interested, go to their website and read more about the pedal. They also have mp3's.
ok i don't usually disagree with donner or any of you for that matter (not strongly disagree anyway) but this whole DOD thing has got to end. this thing has a harsh squak, not a rounded envelope filter sound. it's junk.
quote:Originally posted by absrd: ok i don't usually disagree with donner or any of you for that matter (not strongly disagree anyway) but this whole DOD thing has got to end. this thing has a harsh squak, not a rounded envelope filter sound. it's junk.
I wonder if you are speaking of the boxes they made in the early-80's ? Yes they were edgy sounding, and harsh if you abused them, but did some cool (esp. for recording) aggressive filtering sounds as well. Great for looping background atmospheres. Punk riffs too.
They are in the lo-fi (and low cost) echecelon but one of the good ones down there.
well...i was speaking only of the envelope filter. i think the one i heard was a 90s model, and it squakwed. actually the only good DOD i know of is the gray 250, but i haven't heard them all...i'm sure some are good for some applications.
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